Ridiculous

RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie finds the very mention of the potential for a resumption of the draft ridiculous. Indeed, libelous.

In any case, it's a very legitimate issue. And anyone who thinks seriously about military policy issues has to see that it is one of fairly few policy options to address a looming crisis facing the US military.

Now, the youth voter participation group Rock the Vote has been pushing this issue recently, calling for an election-year debate on the topic in ways you can see if you do a quick google search with their name in it.

And what has the response been from the president?

This week RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie sent the group a 'cease and desist' letter threatening legal action against the group and raising the possibility of seeking the revocation of the group's status as a tax-exempt 501c3 organization if the group did not cease discussing the draft issue.

Claims that a draft is possible, Gillespie argued, are so ridiculous on their face that the the group could only be acting from 'malicious intent and a reckless disregard for the truth.' (Those, of course, are catchphrases laying the groundwork for legal action.)

Gillespie's rationale for arguing that there is no basis for discussing the possibility of a draft is the say-so of the president. Gillespie quotes him saying, "We don't need the draft. Look, the all-volunteer force is working ..."

That, to Gillespie, is -- quite literally -- the end of the debate.

This move, if you think about it, is extraordinary. In a political campaign there are very few forms of political speech -- judged by content -- that should ever be subject to legal proceedings. But to threaten legal action to squelch discussion of a subject that is obviously a very newsworthy and relevant issue -- and one the country could face in the next four years -- is simply astonishing.

And yet, no editorial condemnations. Hardly a mention of it. These are now, apparently, the rules of the road -- expected and calling for no particular commenton.

Of course not. I think the lack of editorial comment is due to two things: the ongoing timidity of the so-called libural media that behaves like an abuse victim when asked to confront the Bush campaign's constant onslaught of lies and threats, and the equally powerful tendency to assume that anything Ed Gillespie says is ridiculous bullshit.

But this is also just another reminder that one of the great, delirious joys of a Kerry victory next month will be the return of Chinless Ed to his fine career as a nightime telemarketer.

Another must read is the note from Reed Hunt to Marshall regarding Michael Powell's disingenuous refusal to "block the airing" of the anti-Kerry film on Sinclair Broadcasting stations.